Air conditioning apparatus



April 24, 1962 F. s. METCALFE 3,030,873

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed April 6, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FREDERICK S METCALFE April 24, 1962 F. s. METCALFE AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1959 FIG? INVENTOR FREDERICK 5.METCl -\LFE FIGB.

United States Parent 3,030,873 AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Frederick S. Metcalfe, Springfield, Mass, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 804,451 Claims. (Cl. 98-94) This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus and more particularly to an improved arrangement for mounting a unit type air conditioner in a window or other opening in a building structure.

Present day room air conditioners are sufficiently compact and light in weight to permit them to be lifted and even moved from place to place by one person. Such units are generally installed in a window or other open ing of the home or ofiice building in which they are used. Heretofore, the portability of this type unit has been of little significance to its owner because the apparatus or structure required to support the unit in the window or opening has been of such a character as to require the services of an experienced person to install the unit. Installation and removal of the unit has been both difficult and expensive.

The present invention provides an improved mounting arrangement which enables even an inexperienced person to install an air conditioning unit in a window and to thereafter remove the unit and transport it to another location, thus enabling the unit to be utilized in more than one room. One of the principal components of the arrangement provided by this invention is a relatively rigid, but adjustable, frame, which is adapted to be mounted in an upright position in the window opening with its vertical edges received in the sash grooves of the window jambs. This frame has an opening therein whose dimensions correspond closely to the transverse cross-sectional dimensions of the air conditioning unit. The act, or step, of inserting the unit into the frame opening is rendered easy by virtue of the fact that the frame is provided along the lower edge of its opening with anti-friction glide means which supports the unit in the opening and facilitates sliding the unit on the frame. Moreover, in accordance with this invention, the under surface, or bottom wall, of the air conditioning unit possesses an unusual surface configuration, which is adapted to insure proper positioning of the unit within the frame, even when the unit is handled by an inexperienced installer. More specifically, the bottom surface of the unit from the outdoor end of the unit to a region inwardly of the center of gravity of the unit is made substantially smooth, i.e., substantially free of external protuberances, so that the unit readily slides on the frame. In the region of the bottom wall of the unit between the unit center of gravity andthe indoor, or front, face of the unit there is provided means, preferably in the form of a transverse indentation or groove, for engaging the glide means on the mounting frame to prevent the unit from being moved outwardly of the frame to an unsafe position or to prevent the unit from being pushed entirely through the frame, so that it falls out of the window opening.

The above mentioned features of the invention, which facilitate installation of the unit in a mounting frame, are supplemented by other novel and useful features. For example, the improved mounting arrangement includes a novel clamp for securing the top wall of the air conditioning unit to the mounting frame and for transferring tilting forces acting on or applied to the unit to the face of the window in which the unit is mounted. Simplicity and ease of installation by inexperienced persons are advantages which attend the novel clamping means of this invention.

The mounting frame employed in this invention is of ice novel construction and possesses unusual versatility, which enables it to be used in windows of different sizes and construction and, although inexpensive to manufacture, is of sturdy construction and capable of transmitting the weight of the air conditioning unit to the window structure in a uniform, distributed manner so as to reduce the likelihood of damage to the window structure.

Other features and advantages of the invention, as well as the objects thereof, will appear from the following detailed description of the invention, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the indoor side or face of an air conditioning unit employing the mounting arrangement of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the installation shown in FIG. 1 and taken as indicated by the line IIII in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale of the bottom of the air conditioning unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mounting frame of this invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, horizontal sectional view of the mounting frame shown in FIG. 4 and illustrating the manner in which the frame is installed in a window opening;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view along line VI-VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is another vertical sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but illustrating a modified mounting frame.

The air conditioning unit 11 is mounted in a window opening solely by means of a mounting frame 12 which rest on a window sill 13 and has an extension bracket 14 projecting from one end thereof, so that the frame projects into and engages opposed sash grooves 16 in window jambs 17. Resting atop the mounting frame 12 is a vertically movable window sash 18, which is guided by the grooves 16.

The construction of the mounting frame 12, which will be discussed in detail hereinafter, is such as to provide a relatively rigid structure having an opening 20 therein for slidably receiving the unit 11. The frame positions the unit in the window opening in such a manner that an indoor, or front, face 21 of the unit projects into the room or space to be conditioned and an outdoor, or rear, face 22 of the unit projects outside the enclosure.

The internal components of the air conditioning unit 11 are not illustrated because their construction and operation are well understood by those skilled in the art. In its simplest form, the unit 11 is adapted to circulate room or indoor air through a portion thereof for the purpose of extracting heat and moisture. This heat and moisture is dissipated to outdoor air which is circulated through another portion of the unit located outside the conditioned space.

In accordance with this invention, the unit 11 and the mounting frame 12 are especially adapted to cooperate with one another and facilitate installation and removal of the unit to and from the frame. To this end, the frame 12 includes a rigid sleeve 23 surrounding the frame opening 20 and dimensionally corresponding closely to the cross-sectional dimensions of the unit as determined by side walls 24, a top wall 25 and a bottom wall 26 of the unit.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the lower horizontal leg of frame sleeve 23 is equipped with anti-friction glide means, preferably in the form of a glide strip 27 of plastic material having a slippery, or unctuous, surface quality and provided with a smoothly curved upper surface. The strip 27 may, for example, be formed of high density polyethylene plastic, which material has a slippery or oily characteristic to its surface and possesses a low coefiicient of friction against steel, or similar material, from which the casing of the air conditioning unit '11 is generally made. The strip 27 provides a low friction support for the air conditioning unit 11, which enables the unit to be easily slid into the frame opening 29.

It is intended that the frame 12 first be mounted in the window and that the unit 11 thereafter be inserted into the frame opening and slid through the opening until a portion of the unit projects outwardly of the window and another portion of the unit projects inwardly of the window. The surface of the bottom wall 26 of the unit 11 from the rear face 22 of the unit to a region between the center of gravity of the unit and the unit front face 21 is preferably smooth, i.e., free of external protuberances, as indicated at 28 in FIG. 3. This smooth bottom wall portion 28 is preferably located adjacent the rear face 22 of the unit because the unit is generally installed in frame 12 from inside the room; outdoor end of the unit first.

The anti-friction strip 27 carried by the frame 12 reduces the force required to move the unit into the frame and makes it unnecessary to walk the unit through the frame or to lift the unit as it is being moved. Because of the relative ease with which the unit may he slid into its mounting frame 12, the opening 20 in the frame can be made to closely fit the unit, thereby simplifying the problem of providing a weather seal between the unit and the frame after the unit is installed.

In order to provide a stop against movement of the unit completely through the frame, with resultant dropping and damaging of the unit, the bottom wall of the unit 11 is equipped with means for engaging, or receiving, the glide strip 27 when the unit has been properly positioned in the frame. This stop means is preferably in the form of a transverse groove, or depression 29 which is formed in the unit bottom wall when it is fabricated. This groove 29 is preferably located between the front face 21 of the unit and the units center of gravity, so that when the unit is properly positioned in its frame 12 and the glide strip 27 is received in the groove the center of gravity of the unit is disposed to the outside of the sash 18 beneath which the unit is mounted. This disposition of the center of gravity of the unit imposes a tilting moment on the unit 11 and the frame 12 in a direction that tends to move the top wall of the unit outwardly of the window sash 18. In other words, the unit tends to fall outwardly rather than inwardly of the room being conditioned.

The tilting force thus acting on the unit 11 is transferred to the frame 12 and the window structure through a second stop means in the form of a flange 31 extending transversely along the top wall 25 of the unit and projecting upwardly therefrom. The flange 31 is preferably provided by a simple angle member screwed or otherwise afiixed to the unit top wall.

It can thus be seen that installation of the unit 11 into the mounting frame 12 requires no extraordinary dexterity or judgment because the unit 11 and frame 12 are equipped with means for stopping the unit in its proper mounting position. Even the inexperienced installer is made aware of the fact that the unit 11 has reached its proper position when the casing groove 29 rides over glide strip 27 and the unit drops slightly as the strip is received in the groove. At this point, flange 31 engages the upper horizontal leg of frame sleeve 23 and maintains the unit in a substantially horizontal position.

It is to be noted that the air conditioning unit 11 when prepared for insertion into the mounting frame 12 has but a single flange member '31 projecting from the walls thereof. The exterior surface of the unit 11 is, therefore, substantially free of extension members, brackets, angle irons and other mounting structure commonly employed in connection with prior air conditioner mounting arrangements. This is an important feature of this invention, because the relatively smooth and unobstructed exterior surface of the unit makes it easier and safer to handle and insert into the window opening and to remove from the window opening.

The bottom wall of the unit 11 is also preferably provided with a second groove or indentation 30 located closer to the indoor face 21 of the unit than the groove 29. This additional groove permits the air conditioning unit 11 to be installed with the indoor face 21 more nearly flush with the window structure. The bottom wall 26 of the unit in the region between grooves 29 and 30 is preferably provided with ribs 38 (see FIG. 3) or some other sliding surface configuration to permit the unit 11 to be moved from a position in which glide strip 27 projects into groove 29 to a position in which it projects into groove 30. In installing the unit in its flush position, the stop flange 31 is moved from its full line position of FIG. 2 to the dot-and-dash line position thereof shown in the same figure, so that this flange engages the upper leg of the frame sleeve 23 when the glide strip 27 is received in groove 30.

The unit 11 is locked into frame 12 by means of a clamp 32, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The clamp 32 is in the form of an inverted channel having a rear depending portion 33 engaging the outdoor face of the upper leg of frame sleeve 23. The clamp extends forwardly over the top of this leg of sleeve 23 and has a forward depending portion 34 in engagement with the front face of the flange 31 which is attached to the top wall of the unit. Clamp 32 is held down against accidental removal by the window sash 18 which engages an upper intermediate portion 35 of the clamp. The clamp also preferably includes an upwardly projecting extension 36 which engages the indoor face of sash 18 and transmits forces to the sash, such as the tilting force on the unit 11 which tends to move the upper edge of the frame 12 outwardly. While the clamp 32, as shown in FIG. 1, is preferably made considerably narrower than the width of the unit 11 in order to reduce the amount of material used in its manufacture, it can be made in any width desired. As can readily be understood, the wider the clamp 32 the more widespread is the distribution of forces to the window sash 18.

The clamp 32 is installed by first hooking its rear extension 33 over the outdoor face of frame sleeve 23, thereafter tilting the clamp downwardly over the front face of unit flange 31 and then bringing the sash 18 down atop the clamp to hold it in place. If desired, a sealing gasket 37 may be disposed between the sash 18 and the upper edge of frame 12 to provide a seal along the top edge of the frame.

The unit is prevented from falling out of the frame 12 into the room prior to the clamp 32 being installed by virtue of the location of grooves 29 and 30 with respect to the center of gravity of the unit; which relationship results in the weight of the unit tending to tilt the unit outwardly, holding flange 31 against frame 12.

The mounting frame 12 possesses several unique features of construction which are illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 4 through 8 on Sheet 2 of the drawings.

The sleeve portion 23 of the mounting frame, which provides the opening 20 in which the unit 11 is received, is a rigid rectangular structure formed by four legs-two vertical legs 41, a horizontal top leg 42 and a horizontal bottom leg 43. All of the legs of the sleeve are formed from a common sheet metal channel section 45 which is roll-formed or otherwise shaped to the configuration shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. The principal characteristics possessed by the sleeve channel section 45 are a reinforced opening 44, extending longitudinally of the channel, and a reversely bent head 46, projecting outwardly from the room side, or face, of the sleeve and located between the inner and outer faces of the channel section.

In accordance with this invention, the elongated opening 44 in channel section 45 is disposed outwardly of the sleeve opening in the vertical legs, 41, of the sleeve, and is disposed inwardly of the sleeve opening in the horizontal, top 'and bottom legs, 42 and 43, of the sleeve. The several legs of sleeve 23 are secured together in any suitable fashion, as by brazing or welding. The inward (actually upward) disposition of opening 44 in the bottom leg 43 of the sleeve provides a convenient securing arrangement for the plastic glide strip 27. As best shown in FIG. 7, the strip 27 may be provided with a longitudinally extending snap bead 47 which is received in opening 44 in sleeve leg 43 for holding the strip 27 onto the sleeve 23.

The outward disposition of the channel opening 44 in one of the vertical legs 41 of the sleeve provides a convenient locking recess for holding one end of an extension screen 48 which closes the opening between the sleeve 23 and the U-shaped extension bracket 14. The horizontal legs of extension bracket 41 are adapted to be received in and slide in the channels forming the top leg 42 and the bottom leg 43 of sleeve 23. (See FIGS. 4 and 7.) The three legs of extension bracket 14 are formed from a common channel 49 (see FIG. 6) having an opening 51 extending along the length thereof and a bead 52 which is provided along the edge of the channel that faces inwardly of the room. The opening 51 in channel 49 extends inwardly of the space between the legs of the bracket 14 and the adjacent vertical leg 41 of the sleeve 23 for the purpose of receiving projecting portions of the extension screen 48. The screen 48 is preferably molded to a pleated configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 6, and is provided at its upper and lower edges with headed projections 53 which extend into openings 51 in the horizontal legs of extension bracket 14. The vertical edge portions of screen 48 preferably have locking tabs 54 molded integrally thereto for disposition respectively in opening 51 in the vertical leg of bracket 14 and opening 44 in one of the vertical legs of the frame sleeve 23 (see FIG. With the vertical edges of extension screen 48 attached respectively to extension bracket 14 and sleeve 23, the screen 48 is extended or compressed as the extension bracket 14 is moved away from or toward the sleeve 23 as the frame 12 is adjusted to fit different size window structures. The projections 53 extend upwardly and downwardly from screen 48, ride in openings 51 in the horizontal legs of extension bracket 14 and maintain alignment of the screen in the extension bracket. After bracket 14 has been positioned with respect to sleeve 23 in accordance with the Width of the window in which mounting frame 12 is to be disposed, the frame is locked relative to the sleeve by tightening set screws 56 carried on each of the top and bottom legs 42 and 43 of frame 12 (see FIGS. 5 and 7).

The vertical leg of the U-shaped extension bracket 14, and the opposite vertical leg 41 of sleeve 23 are preferably equipped with adjustable angle flanges 57, which are held in place thereon by means of screws 58 which thread into spring clamp nuts 59 (see FIG. 5). By adjusting the position of angle flanges 57 it is possible to alter the depth of the vertical edges of the mounting frame 12, so as to provide a close fit between the edges of the frame and the sash grooves 16 in which the frame is mounted.

It will be noted from FIGS. 4 and S that the bead 46 on the sleeve channel 45 and the head 52 on the extension channel 43 form a forwardly projecting frame disposed inwardly of the outermost portions of the mounting frame 12. These beads overlie juxtaposed faces of window trim strips 61 forming the indoor walls of sash grooves 16, and overlie the rear portion of the upper surface of the sill 13 (FIG. 6). In addition to serving a decorative purpose, the right angle recess provided by this bead arrangement insures that the frame is positively seated against the trim strips 61 and the window sill 13.

A weather-proof seal between the unit 11 and the mounting frame 12 is provided by means of a resilient gasket 62, which is preferably clamped beneath the stop flange 31 secured to the top wall 25 of the unit (see FIG. 2) to provide a seal between the top wall of the unit and the top leg 42 of frame sleeve 23. End portions of the gasket 62 are permitted to drape down the side walls 24 of the unit as the unit is being inserted into mounting frame opening 20 and these end portions of the gasket are thereafter stuffed between the side walls of the unit and the bead 46 on the sleeve channel 45. The location of bead 46 outwardly of the innermost portions of the sleeve channel provides sufficient space to permit the gasket to be easily inserted in this location. The disposition of gasket 62 along the side walls of the unit 11 is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein the surfaces of the unit side walls are indicated in dot-and-dash lines 24.

FIG. 8 illustrates a modification of the invention in which the anti-friction means provided at the bottom edge of the opening in mounting frame 12 comprises a roller 63, which is supported for rotation by a horizontal pin 64. The roller 63 is mounted on the bottom leg 43 of the frame sleeve 23 and serves the same purpose as the plastic glide strip 27 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. The roller 63 permits the air conditioning unit 11 to be moved easily thereover as the unit is inserted into the mounting frame and projects into the depression or groove 29 in the bottom wall of the unit to position the unit in the window. The roller 63 has the disadvantage of not providing as good a weather-tight seal as does the plastic strip 27 of the first embodiment.

While but two forms of mounting frames constructed in accordance'with this invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that other changes and modifications may be made in the apparatus shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with an air conditioning unit having a front face and a rear face and top, bottom and side Walls, of a frame for mounting said unit in an opening, said frame having a rectangular opening therein adapted to receive said unit, anti-friction glide means carried by said frame and extending transversely of the frame opening along the bottom edge of said frame opening, said glide means having a smoothly rounded upper surface for supporting said unit as the unit is inserted through said frame opening, the bottom wall of said unit having a transverse depression therein adapted to receive said glide means and positioned between the front face of the unit and the center of gravity of the unit, the bottom wall of said unit between said depression and the rear face thereof being substantially free of external protuberances, and a flange secured to said unit and engaging said frame at the side thereof remote from said center of gravity in spaced relation to said glide means to prevent tilting motion of said unit when said glide means is in said depression.

2. The combination with an air conditioning unit having a front face and a rear face and top, bottom and side walls, of an upright frame for mounting said unit in a window opening below a sash, said frame having a rectangular opening therein adapted to receive said unit, a strip of plastic material having unctuous surface characteristics and carried by said frame along the bottom edge of the opening in said frame, the upper surface of said strip projecting into said opening for supporting said unit as the unit is moved into said opening, said unit having a transverse depression in the bottom wall thereof adapted to receive said strip when said unit is installed in said frame, said depression being located between the front face of the unit and the center of gravity of the unit, whereby said strip is received in said depression only after said unit is moved into said frame sufficiently far to cause the unit to tilt outwardly of said frame, a member carried by said unit and engaging said frame at the side thereof remote from said center of gravity and in spaced relation to said strip for preventing said tilting movement of said unit in said frame, and means for maintaining said member in engagement with said frame, said means also abutting the face of the window sash which is remote from said center of gravity.

3. In an air conditioner mount, a frame securable in a window opening beneath a window sash with vertical edge portions of said frame disposed in the sash grooves for said sash, an air conditioning unit mountable in said frame with the center of gravity of said unit spaced from the plane of said frame, flange means on the top wall of said unit and extending transversely thereof for engagement with said frame, and means for securing said flange to said frame and for preventing movement of said frame and said unit flange with respect to said window sash, said means comprising an inverted channel member having depending portions respectively engageable with oppositely directed faces of said flange and said frame and an upwardly extending portion engageable with the face of said window sash which faces away from the center of gravity of said unit.

4. In an air conditioner mount, a frame securable in a window opening beneath a window sash with vertical edge portions of said frame disposed in the sash grooves for said sash, an air conditioning unit mountable in said frame, flange means on the top wall of said unit and ex tending transversely thereof for engagement with said frame, and means for securing said flange to said frame and for preventing movement of said frame and said unit flange with respect to said window sash, said means comprising an inverted channel member having a first depending portion engageable with the indoor face of said flange, a second depending portion engageable with the outdoor face of said frame, and an upwardly extending portion engageable with the indoor face of said window sash.

5. The combination with an air conditioning unit having a front face and a rear face and top, bottom and side walls, of a frame securable in a window opening beneath a window sash with vertical edge portions of said frame disposed in the sash grooves for said sash, said frame having top, bottom and side legs defining an opening adapted to receive said unit, glide means for the bottom leg of said frame to facilitate sliding said unit into said frame, the bottom wall of said unit having a transverse depression therein shaped to receive said glide means, the bottom wall of said unit between said depression and the rear face of the unit being substantially free of external protuberances, an upright member secured to the top wall of said unit in a position to engage the top leg of said frame when said glide means is received in said depression, and means for clamping said upright member to said frame to secure said unit in the frame, said clamping means comprising an inverted channel having depending portions respectively engageable with oppositely directed faces of said member and the top leg of said frame, said window sash when lowered onto said frame resisting upward movement of said channel off said member and the top leg of said frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,335,627 Wolfert Nov. 30, 1943 2,436,713 Cody Feb. 24, 1948 2,781,717 Hord Feb. 19, 1957 2,799,062 Callan July 16, 1957 2,818,793 Hord Ian. 7, 1958 

